Chapter 313 - 309: Mountain Village (2)

Fox Tail Mountain.

The forest on the mountain was lush and overgrown. Branches stretched out unrestrained, crisscrossing and intertwining, forming dense layers that completely blocked out the sky.

Only a few weak rays of light occasionally struggled through the gaps in the leaves, sprinkling the ground below with flecks of light.

Perhaps because this place had rarely been visited over the years.

The ground was already covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves. A single step would produce a RUSTLING sound.

Here and there, one could see rotted branches lying haphazardly, covered in various kinds of unknown fungi that had sprouted at some point.

The path through the mountain forest was rugged and treacherous, making travel extremely difficult. Every step had to be taken with caution.

「At this moment.」

Beside a mountain ravine, clear spring water gurgled down from a stream high on the peak.

The water was crystal clear, shimmering under the sunlight.

A group of four was slowly climbing upward along the ravine.

The four of them, two men and two women, were all in their twenties.

"The air in these unspoiled mountains really is the best!"

The first to speak was one of the women. She wore form-fitting athletic wear that further accentuated her stunning figure.

Right now, her cheeks were flushed red like ripe apples—the signature glow that comes from hiking.

Her large eyes shone with excitement.

Gazing at the beautiful mountain scenery, she took a deep breath. The two men beside her couldn’t tear their eyes away from the rising and falling of her chest.

"I’m glad you like it, Shen Ling!"

Cao Fei replied with a smile.

He had slightly tan skin and wore a black tank top that showed off the smooth, tight muscles of his arms, giving him an air of reliability.

"It’s nice, but this place has been untouched for a long time. It’s a primitive forest, so there might be wild animals or venomous snakes around. We need to be careful."

Lü Yi, standing to the side, nodded slightly and added a word of caution.

He was a bit on the leaner side and wore a light gray sweatsuit, giving him a capable and sharp look.

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something.

His gaze shifted to the girl at the rear of the group, who had been silent the whole time.

"Luo Xiaomeng, remember to get some shots of our surroundings. We’ll need them for the edit later."

Lü Yi issued the task in an indifferent tone.

"Okay."

The girl, Luo Xiaomeng, replied softly.

She had her hair in a simple ponytail, a few freckles dotted her face, and she wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

A camera was slung around her neck. She trailed silently at the back of the group, her hands on the camera, diligently filming. It seemed she wasn’t one for conversation.

The other three didn’t pay her much mind, simply chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

Every so often, something one of the men said would make Shen Ling giggle, the sound echoing through the woods and breaking the mountain forest’s tranquility.

Just then, Shen Ling stepped onto a rock.

She struck a pose with a peace sign, about to ask Luo Xiaomeng to take a photo of her.

But just as she did, her peripheral vision caught something unexpected, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Hey, look! I think there’s someone over there."

Shen Ling said.

At her words, the others looked where she was pointing. A Young Man with a black hiking backpack was striding up toward them from below. His pace was extremely fast, and he closed the distance between them in just a few steps.

"Isn’t this area supposed to be off-limits? What’s his deal?"

Lü Yi frowned, his face filled with confusion.

Beside him, Cao Fei also shook his head, just as perplexed.

"Maybe he’s like us. Here to explore and get some footage, you never know."

Shen Ling mused aloud.

Seeing the Young Man draw nearer, an idea popped into her head, and she suggested with a smile.

"Why don’t we invite him to join us? It’s always safer with more people."

Hearing this, Lü Yi and Cao Fei both frowned slightly.

They weren’t keen on the idea but didn’t want to refuse outright, so they both fell silent.

Shen Ling didn’t seem to mind their reaction.

When the Young Man got a bit closer, she cupped her hands around her mouth.

Forming a makeshift megaphone, she shouted to him:

"Hey, handsome! Are you by yourself? Meeting out here must be fate. Want to team up with us?"

"No, thanks. I prefer to be alone."

The Young Man—Hu Qi—swept a cool gaze over them.

He ignored the warning glares from the two men.

"It’s not safe here. If you don’t want to die, you’d better get off this mountain before dark."

With that said, Hu Qi ignored their reactions and swiftly moved past them.

He walked along the steep mountain path as if it were level ground and quickly vanished from their sight.

He had only warned them because she’d called him handsome.

Considering the glares from the men, giving a warning was more than enough.

He had done his part.

Whether they believed him was none of his business.

Adults should be responsible for their own actions.

You make your choice, you bear the consequences.

He wasn’t a savior and had no desire to help people correct their bad decisions. To him...

...the only thing he could do was send his enemies to meet God. That in itself was one of his rare acts of mercy.

"Hmph! The nerve of that guy! If he hadn’t taken off so fast, I’d have taught him a lesson."

Lü Yi couldn’t help but snort. ’In his opinion, it’s obviously safer to have more people in these deep woods. But this guy, he’s actually all alone. Isn’t he afraid something might happen?’

’And on top of that, he dared to Curse us!’

After hearing Lü Yi’s words, Cao Fei and Shen Ling also chimed in with their agreement.

Only Luo Xiaomeng watched Hu Qi’s retreating figure, lost in thought.

Afterward, the group continued along the mountain path, quickly putting the little episode behind them.

Cao Fei and Lü Yi continued to orbit Shen Ling, chatting and laughing along the way.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiaomeng, walking at the back, was like a tool, silently trailing behind them.

However, none of the three noticed that, when they weren’t looking, Luo Xiaomeng’s gaze would occasionally fall upon them, her thoughts a mystery.

The total elevation of Fox Tail Mountain was about a thousand meters.

If the path had been well-defined and the slope relatively gentle, they could have reached the summit in two or three hours without many breaks.

But Fox Tail Mountain was a desolate peak that had long been deserted by visitors. The path was rugged and winding.

The trail conditions were incredibly complex, with venomous snakes and wild animals occasionally appearing, making the climb far more difficult than they had anticipated.

Furthermore, they had to stop every few steps to film footage for later editing, which slowed their progress even more.

They had set out around noon, and by late afternoon, they had only made it about two-thirds of the way up, with a good distance still to the summit.

As the sun began to set in the west, the light grew dim. Night fell much faster in the mountain forest than it did outside.

With no other choice, they decided to set up camp right where they were. After all, navigating the mountain path in the pitch-black night would be even more difficult. A single misstep could lead to a fall and an injury, which would be a disaster.

The only silver lining was that they had been following the ravine the entire way, so at least they weren’t lost.

By the ravine, the group pitched two tents—one for Cao Fei and Lü Yi, the other for Shen Ling and Luo Xiaomeng.

Then, they all sat on a picnic blanket and began to eat the food they had prepared ahead of time.

They had anticipated the possibility of spending the night in the forest and had brought enough food, so at least they wouldn’t go hungry.

Just then, Shen Ling, who was sitting to one side, suddenly sneezed.

She couldn’t help but rub her arms. "Brr," she said, confused. "Why do I suddenly feel so cold?"

The other three felt it too, and they even started to shiver slightly, feeling a chill creep in from all directions.

"Air circulates relatively well in a forest, so heat dissipates more easily. Now that there’s no sunlight to replenish the warmth, the temperature drops faster. Generally, the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature gets at night."

Luo Xiaomeng, who had been quiet until now, adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and offered an explanation.

"Besides, we’re right next to the ravine. There’s a lot of moisture in the air here, which increases the humidity and makes it feel colder and damp. The chill feels more intense. It’s perfectly normal."

After she finished speaking, Shen Ling shot her a slightly resentful look.

She frowned and said, "Xiaomeng, if you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you say something sooner? It’s freezing! How are we supposed to sleep tonight?"

Hearing Shen Ling’s complaint, Cao Fei and Lü Yi also turned to look at Luo Xiaomeng, their eyes filled with blame.

It was as if they weren’t the ones who had insisted on coming in the first place.

However, faced with their reactions, Luo Xiaomeng’s expression remained calm.

It was as if she were already used to this kind of treatment.

She just shook her head and explained with a hint of resignation.

"I’d only read about this in books. Who could have predicted the temperature on the mountain would actually drop this much?"

She paused for a moment, as if a thought had just occurred to her, and then added.

"But we could look around for a cave in a cliff face or something. It should be warmer inside if we can find one."

No one objected to Luo Xiaomeng’s suggestion.

After all, the chill was intensifying. A layer of gray-white mist had begun to rise through the forest, its spread making the atmosphere feel even colder.

Besides, they had sweated a lot while climbing, and now that the cold wind was blowing, the chill seemed to seep right into their bones, making them feel even colder than before. For the time being, trying her suggestion was their only option.

The group packed up their tents. They had only walked a few steps when they suddenly spotted a light in the distance.

Looking closer, they saw that it was a village.